Much has been made of the Oilers jersey that came flying out of the stands and landed on the ice on Saturday against the Blues. Never mind that it was probably the fastest moving thing in an Oilers jersey the entire night, this isn't the way to protest the current state of the team.

We can totally understand the thinking behind whipping the ol' Blue and Orange onto the ice. The Oilers are flat out brutal and the 2,502 management types employed by Kay-Z seem more out of touch than ever, doddering about in the press box night after night and peering down with deer in the headlights looks.

They aren't exactly addressing the needs of the team or the fans who continue to trudge through biblical snow storms to Rexall Place or forgo watching documentaries on Netflix in favour of tuning into Oilers games. The players themselves seem about as interested in winning as that team that gets trotted out against the Harlem Globetrotters.

We totally understand the rage that generates. Sooner or later protests are going to begin in earnest and that has to be expected by anyone with a functioning cerebral cortex.

But throwing the jersey on the ice? That ain't the play.

PRIDE

The Oilers jersey represents all Oilers of all time. By throwing a jersey on the ice at Rexall you are throwing Gretzky's league wide retired 99 on the ice. You are throwing Bill Ranford's 30 that stopped so many sure goals so long ago, You are throwing the 39 Doug Weight wore that year he had 104 points and blew all our minds in the process. You are throwing the 21 Jason Smith wore as he blocked shot after shot with his front teeth.

It's what hundreds of now forgotten players sweated and bled for over the years and the 2013-14 Oilers stinking out the joint again doesn't mean that you should spit in the face of all these soldiers and dishonour their pride and effort in the process. They deserve better,

There is literally nothing the current half assed Oilers squad can do to diminish what the Champions that came before them have accomplished and I for one will never lose my pride in those players and the teams that wore the jersey before them.

GRIM TIMES THESE

Sadder than the scoreboard on Saturday night, the knowledge all of HNIC just watched the Oil embarass themselves yet again or all the empty seats was this scene we (illegally most likely) captured as we were filing out of Rexall Place.

This poor lil kiddo was a few rows in front of us and seemed quite upset at the Oilers getting shelled. At the end of the game she was very animated and it was only the efforts of her Dad chanelling the leadership of Jason Smith that ultimately talked her off the ledge.

It was quite the heartbreaking scene to witness.

At least we are all adults to some degree. It's the children that we feel bad for who come to the game in their finest lil Oilers jerseys with the unreasonable expectations of kids today - see a hockey game worth watching and her Oilers win. She doesn't understand rebuilds, timing good teams for new arenas or assessing team needs that haven't changed for the 7th consecutive season.

It's a good thing her dad had the character of Jason Smith to call on and wasn't wearing a Nilsson jersey or that of a lesser man.

So spazz on twitter or here on the Nation until you feel some mild relief. Send Kevin Lowe a platinum membership to Monster.com and wish him good job hunting if you like. Refuse to fill your recent prescription for life saving medication because you don't want to support Daryl Katz any further. Reasonable people are reaching their breaking point we totally get this.

How dare you Dallas in calling out a fan for being a "quitter"? wtf do you call your team when they quit on you after the first period last game? you a*&hole!!! you have been here for 40 games, and have no idea how passionate the fans are in Edmonton, you havent earned the right to call anyone out in this city until you win a god damn thing. IDIOT!!!! I hope you did this because you know you are getting fired soon..moron. The fan that threw this jersey is a blue collar, hardworking individual who even admitted in the paper that he's not quitting on his team, he was just frustrated like the rest of us are. Screw you Eakins!!! and screw the whole management team in Oiler nation. The reason you eat,is beacuse of the tickets we buy. done ranting..am sorry if I offended any loyal fans on this site! Merry F*&^% Christmas!!!!

I only come by to indulge in some Schadenfruede. Thanks for being passionate Oiler fans. Your loyalty fuels the reign of incompetence that exists from the top down. Some rich kid stokes his ego with the purchase of the home town team and has no concept of what it takes to run a franchise. As long as you are talking, visiting this site or others , complaining about the Oilers I can relish in your misery. Please never let DK hear crickets, indifference or closed wallets. Bless all of you and Merry Christmas.

Wanye I couldn't disagree with you more. Don't become an oil fart catcher and start making excuses. I put more that 200g into tickets over the many years of season tickets I have had and if I want to toss the overpriced garbage where it belongs, I will do it.

It TOTALLY is the right thing to do to a club that has DISRESPECTED all of us and continues to not give one freaking iota of thought to the people supporting this gong show.

What he should have done was to get ahold of the jersey and hung it prominently in the dressing room and point to it as a symbol of failure. A symbol that will be returned to its owner when this team returns to a winning - playoff bound - form.

What he should have done was to get ahold of the jersey and hung it prominently in the dressing room and point to it as a symbol of failure. A symbol that will be returned to its owner when this team returns to a winning - playoff bound - form.

Instead he took smoldering fan frustration and threw naphtha on it.

Lowe school of public relations.

Someone here said the PR guy for the Oilers went to school with Katz.Why does this not surprise me.

I don't think tossing the jersey on the ice disrespects past players. It's a comment on the current organization only. It's a comment on the now and the perceived future. I have tons of respect for the players that came before, but if I still lived in Edmonton I would toss my jersey on the ice in support of the message that fan was trying to send. Drastic action, it would appear, is needed to get Katz attention and if this does it then I say "toss away!" Oiler fans. We can't sit on our hands any longer. The boys on the bus must go!

I'm not kissing Wanye's butt or that of anyone who thinks the jersey shouldn't hit the ice or the floor because it's some sort of important symbol.

All I'm saying is a little bigger-picture perspective is probably needed here.

I was at that game on Saturday when the jersey hit the ice and my reaction wasn't that of a frustrated Oilers fan ... rather, it was one of someone who just watched someone toss an expensive jersey onto the ice in a temper tantrum - four days before Christmas. Just seems like a waste to me.

There are lots of little kids who'd love a hockey jersey for Christmas and they're not likely to get one ... but meanwhile some grandstander throws one onto the ice because his team lost a meaningless game in December and he figures, what the heck, it's the late-game on HNIC, after all.

Put it this way: If I'd done that in front of my folks when I was a kid (or hell, as an adult), it would have been my last act on this planet. You never waste something you paid hard-earned dollars for ... and you never let entertainment get the best of you.

If that sounds quaint or old-fashioned or sanctimonious, so be it. Someone needs to point out the absurdity of the act.

Don't get me wrong, I do sympathize with the frustration, but the act is just so lame and wasteful.

If you're frustrated to the point that you'll throw money over the glass, stop going to the games. If you're holding single-tickets, sell them online. They'll go fast. If you're a season ticketholder, cancel them or send them back to the team - I'm sure they will be takers for them as it's my understanding that there's a rather long waitlist for season tickets in E-town.

This has happened in football a few times, one of the weirder ones was last season when the Ultras (super hard core fans) of Genoa confronted the team by threatening to invade the pitch. The team was losing 4-0 in the second half and the Ultras demanded that the players give them their shirts off their back as they weren't worthy of them. Every player except one did so and after some tense negotiation, the players got the shirt back and the game resumed.

I don't expect the fans to be demanding the shirts of the Oil but the jersey thrown on the ice is louder than all the boos in the arena, louder than any fan site bitching about the state of affairs, louder than any news show or article. It maybe has shown that the fans are at the breaking point, that you have to draw the line and mean it. It is clear now judging by how much news this act has generated that this is enough of this crap. I applaud the person who did it as that action somehow is the voice of every tier one to three fan, it is finally a way that we know everyone through the Organisation from top to bottom could let them know how people feel. Nothing has symbolised the frustration like that.

I admit, what was biting at my ass was how Taylor Hall could possibly be smiling on After Hours after that sh*tshow, I don't get how you could smile and joke after that. It would have gone a long way to at least pretend you're pissed off, pretend you are angry and embarrassed, you shouldn't smile after that. There is no reason to smile, it was a sorry team display, and he looked indifferent to it all. It's like the team summed up in that interview thing.

It was the ultimate statement of a customer saying they're not going to buy a product anymore because they are sick and tired of having to pay the high prices for the never ending low quality.

More than that it showed other fans who are angry and frustrated that they too don't have to buy this crap anymore.

This is the first year I purchased mini packs and I regret the hell out of it. That money could have been better spent in so many places. I don't even mind going to a game to see the Oilers lose. Boston, for example was a great game in every respect outside of Dubnyk's shoddy first period performance. They lost, but what a game that was.

But the shut out losses to the Red Wings, the Maple Leaf's and the Blues, were piss poor efforts from a team who is playing like they do not care, and that is something Edmonton fans are sick of paying for.

At first I had mixed emotions about the tossing and then common sense kicked in. What this fan did was brilliant. If you stay at home, don't buy a jersey, stop watching games, etc who will notice? Nobody. There will be another pigeon to fill your seat at Rexall

ThIs jersey toss is epic and it's the turning point for this fan base. It's us standing up and saying "we won't be crapped on anymore and take it". It's an embarrassment to the club and th management. I love it. I will go further and say that if this team comes out and lays another egg like that again, let the jerseys fly. That's right, we are going to hold the players and management responsible and when you give us garbage like this, we are going to rub your nose in a heaping pile. Can you imagine 10, 20, or 50 jerseys hurled onto the ice. Katz would have to double security and watch us like hawks. I can see it now.....man stands up and scratches his back and is kicked out of Rexall for what was perceived to be a jersey toss in the making.

Can't agree Wanye, the fan wasn't disrespecting the jersey worn by past greats. He was shedding it in disgust because this Oilers team is the one disrespecting the past greats and all Oiler teams until this one. AND the fans who've stuck with them and bought tickets through 6 years of rebuild already. (I don't care what anyone says - it started in 2007 when Gagner made the team a year before he should have).

As for Eakins, if you listen to him, even though the question was about the fan, he seemed to be really talking to his team when he went off. I bet that's what he really thinks - same as us - that he's got a team of quitters with little heart. He probably has nightmares. He was off base, but I can sympathize with his transferrence.

If you're referring to Smid, I have it on good authority that he had asked for a trade because the locker room situation had become unbearable. When Eakins told Smid that he had been traded, it was actually the first time that he had ever spoken to him. That might give you some insight on how this team is run. Its no secret he plays favorites. I didn't realize that his non favorites were ostracized.
Smid was a good guy and a great team mate. When Yak gets run out of town, remember this. Not a favorite.

If what you're saying is true, then I may have lost all faith in the team and organization. I was a fan of the Eakins hiring but if he doesn't talk to the players he doesn't like, that is not a way to build a winning team and speaks volumes to the poor management of the organization.

Granted I may be biased since I own a Smid jersey, but that was probably the dumbest hockey move I've seen in a long while. It makes a bit of sense if what you say is true but the way this info is coming out kind of reminds me of the rumour surrounding another defenceman (and news reporter?) that was traded for Smid.

This has happened in football a few times, one of the weirder ones was last season when the Ultras (super hard core fans) of Genoa confronted the team by threatening to invade the pitch. The team was losing 4-0 in the second half and the Ultras demanded that the players give them their shirts off their back as they weren't worthy of them. Every player except one did so and after some tense negotiation, the players got the shirt back and the game resumed.

I don't expect the fans to be demanding the shirts of the Oil but the jersey thrown on the ice is louder than all the boos in the arena, louder than any fan site bitching about the state of affairs, louder than any news show or article. It maybe has shown that the fans are at the breaking point, that you have to draw the line and mean it. It is clear now judging by how much news this act has generated that this is enough of this crap. I applaud the person who did it as that action somehow is the voice of every tier one to three fan, it is finally a way that we know everyone through the Organisation from top to bottom could let them know how people feel. Nothing has symbolised the frustration like that.

I admit, what was biting at my ass was how Taylor Hall could possibly be smiling on After Hours after that sh*tshow, I don't get how you could smile and joke after that. It would have gone a long way to at least pretend you're pissed off, pretend you are angry and embarrassed, you shouldn't smile after that. There is no reason to smile, it was a sorry team display, and he looked indifferent to it all. It's like the team summed up in that interview thing.

Boh the Oil make me crazy ....

I recently had the opportunity to go for post game beers with a marginal NHL player on a struggling team (not the Oilers)after an embarrassing loss. I was surprised how little he seemed to care about his team's struggles and the outcome of the game he just finished playing. He was more concerned about where the party was at and if any cute girls would be there,etc...

If these players really cared as much as the fans they'd be sick after a loss like that. Hall should have been too upset to even go to the post game interview, let alone laugh and joke around.

Personally, I have decided to no longer be a fan of any team. From now on I am a fan of the sport of hockey and will watch for the enjoyment of the game.

Think about your job. Think about your co-workers. How many people in your industry, or at your place of employment, show a passion for their job? How many feel an overwhelming pride for the company they work for? If you have to wear a uniform, how many feel proud to wear it and would never do anything to demean its value? Unless you are military or a public servant, I bet there are very few. So why should we expect anything more from a 22 year old kid who was drafted by this team 4 years ago and moved to Edmonton to pursue employment in the NHL?

This article sounds like it was written by the Oiler management team. Blabbing about the glory days and all the cups of yesteryear. Live in the now FFS. The jersey toss was well deserved and a direct shot at Katz and his merry band of former Oilers who don't know how to run an NHL team. I'd like to shake the hand of the man who tossed it.

New Years Resolution for Oiler Fans: Do not spend a penny more on this franchise till drastic changes are made in the front office.

If you bought a new car every year and it was a lemon every time, do you think you would buy that same car for 8 years in a row?

As a fan I am frustrated that the Oilers have shown no improvement and in fact under Eakins have regressed. My frustration however is compounded by the inaction of Katz not being a responsible owner and dismissing Kevin Lowe. For that reason I am in favour of the jersey thrower. Katz is disrespecting the franchise not the jersey thrower.

Sick n tired of listening to these try hard fans talk about supporting your team. Most of these clowns don't understand a thing about sports and are the same ya-hoos that bring cow bells to sporting events! I can't even sit through a period of hockey before tuning out from sheer boredom or frustration. For Dallas Eakins to have the audacity to comment on a fans "statement" is hilarious. Dallas my boy, you have come to this city and mimed your way through the first half of a season. All the camera shots of you on the bench between goals "deep in thought" have worn thin. You are clearly out of ideas or out of your league! Try this: nose down, call out your players, and start making those accountable respond. To the fan who threw his jersey onto the ice: I say good on you! OIL CHANGE!

I'm not kissing Wanye's butt or that of anyone who thinks the jersey shouldn't hit the ice or the floor because it's some sort of important symbol.

All I'm saying is a little bigger-picture perspective is probably needed here.

I was at that game on Saturday when the jersey hit the ice and my reaction wasn't that of a frustrated Oilers fan ... rather, it was one of someone who just watched someone toss an expensive jersey onto the ice in a temper tantrum - four days before Christmas. Just seems like a waste to me.

There are lots of little kids who'd love a hockey jersey for Christmas and they're not likely to get one ... but meanwhile some grandstander throws one onto the ice because his team lost a meaningless game in December and he figures, what the heck, it's the late-game on HNIC, after all.

Put it this way: If I'd done that in front of my folks when I was a kid (or hell, as an adult), it would have been my last act on this planet. You never waste something you paid hard-earned dollars for ... and you never let entertainment get the best of you.

If that sounds quaint or old-fashioned or sanctimonious, so be it. Someone needs to point out the absurdity of the act.

Don't get me wrong, I do sympathize with the frustration, but the act is just so lame and wasteful.

If you're frustrated to the point that you'll throw money over the glass, stop going to the games. If you're holding single-tickets, sell them online. They'll go fast. If you're a season ticketholder, cancel them or send them back to the team - I'm sure they will be takers for them as it's my understanding that there's a rather long waitlist for season tickets in E-town.

Agreed dude. And if I've read correctly he didn't pay for it. A gift given to him. If that is true then it doesnt show much appreciation to who gave it to him. If it was his that he bought then it is a free country but definately waste. I gave two replica oiler jerseys that are the cheaper 100 dollar variety. One of them is the one designed by the comic book dude. I would NEVER throw them out no matter what. Cost hard earned cash to buy it, dont have the funds to replace it. If the dude that did this has the cash to just buy a new one then maybe he should be donating to charities where the money would go to better use than a wasted jersey from a poor sport fan. People bash the oilers mgmt team for not making changes but I doubt any of the naysayers could do better. If you think improving this team is as simple as making a phone call for a trade you are sadly mistaken. There's other things involved. People need to get real on a lot of these issues.

Holy thin skinned-ness! It's come to this? Frustration to the point that you're calling out Wanye? What a bunch of self-entitled, cry babies! I love hockey and the Oilers but seriously people - it's hockey! "Oh poor us ... we've wasted $5k ... $20k ... $100k on Oilers tickets and THIS is how THEY treat us!?!?!?" ...oh to have such problems.

The past 7 years have sucked - no doubt! But the whining and belly-aching on here is no better than Lowe's idiocy. Yeesh!!!

Oh no. Wanye, don't tell us you are on the Oilers payroll with Stauffer now? I would expect some BS like this from him, but not you.

The jersey laying on the ice during a national TV broadcast was quite simply, beautiful. It has really stirred up some fire in the fans, and goddamnit we deserve to have our voices heard.

Do you know what it's like being a passionate Oilers fan living in Vancouver? It's awful. I've been here for 10 years and it has been terrible. I've been the punchline of jokes, I take it on the chin game after game from friends, coworkers, inlaws. I'm done with it, but all I can do is turn the other cheek. And yes I paid $150 to go to that limp-dicked performance we displayed at Rogers Arena last week.

The Canucks are good. That's why I hate them. I hate them so much because they are a damn good team and the Oilers have are a doormat.

I've spent a fortune on Oilers merchandise, hockey tickets in both Edmonton and Vancouver, I've paid to watch them lose more times than I can even remember.

My friends and wife tell me to just tune the Oilers out cause they are sincerely depressing me. I can't though, they are part of me. They feel like my family too. I have fought for them like a soldier, the least they could do is fight for us.

Kevin Lowe. GTFO.

But you would rather us go back to our silent protest that accomplishes nothing out of respect for guys that left here 20 years ago? Half of them came back to get comfy jobs from their buddy, Kevin. Eff this.

The jersey on the ice...beautiful. Viva la revolution.

And yes, they beat Winnipeg tonight. Whoopty-freaking-doo. They are 12-24-3

Use to be a maple leaf fan back when I was a kid, have been an OILERS fan since they came into the NHL. Everyone is frustrated and pissed off, we need to see some fight from the players and fans. I believe in Dallas and see he is also fighting to do what's right and screwed up with the comment but he is trying to say to his players don,t be a quitter. FIGHT ..it's hard to believe when things are not going well especially after all these years some maple leaf fans still believe and they have not won a cup since 1967 GO OILERS keep fighting get pissed and play harder and fans stay believers their time will come

yeah, he's only been here 40 games and he takes more pride in the oilers logo than anyone willing to throw their jersey on the ice. Give you head a shake - you should be pissed at the "fan" who is disrespecting your team. If you don't realize what an insult it is to have that jersey thrown down than you need to take some time to think about what that logo stands for. When you're done thinking about that, think about what it means to be supportive.

With the exception of hassling the Oilers in their private time, any form of protest is fair game. If nothing else, I'd hope that Eakins has hung the picture of the thrown jersey in the dressing room where none of the players can miss it. If he can't see the motivational value of gesture, he shouldn't be coach.

Seriously? Throwing a jersey on the ice disrespects the entire legacy of the Oilers? I don't see it that way at all...

The single action of a frustrated fan doesn't come close to the impact that inept management has had on the once proud legacy of this franchise... Face it, we are the joke of the league. I can't feel "pride" wearing the orange and blue... Hell, even in the 90's I could at least feel the pride of cheering for the plucky underdog, the team of misfits and castoffs who played hard and fought like dogs for the chance of an 8th place finish.

For the first time I feel embarrassed to wear the jersey, and can't even bring myself to watch them on TV. My son has never seen his team in the playoffs, ever, and I've actually had to suggest he change his loyalties as I can't see any foreseeable light at the end of this tunnel! How cruel is that!?!

I can't think of anything more disrespectful to the jersey and the legacy of this organization than the decade of losing, under performing, constant coaching changes, and asset mismanagement. People snicker about the Oil the way we used to joke about Mike Milbury and the Isles...

So if a discarded jersey acts as a beacon for change, or even just to show to management and players that we, the fans of your franchise, are sick and tired of the way this team is being run and the way players are showing up, then so be it. It's a powerful message that we are sick of our legacy being disrespected, and not an act of disrespect to the legacy in itself.